Earlier, we urged the United States to grant South Korea authority to reprocess its own nuclear fuel rods in consideration of the ever worsening space problem for nuclear waste. Most recently, the Korean government has reportedly given up persuading the U.S. with regard to the issue of renewing their bilateral nuclear treaty that expires in March 2014.

Once again, we emphasize the urgent need for the U.S. to let South Korea reprocess its fuel rods.

True, it’s deplorable that past governments have been negligent in choosing the venue for spent nuclear fuel. The Roh Moo-hyun administration gave up its bid to build a combined storage facility for low-, medium- and high-level radioactive materials after being burned because of tough protests in Buan, North Jeolla Province, in 2003. Instead, Gyeongju, North Gyengsang Province, was chosen as the venue that would stockpile only medium- and low-level materials in 2005 after residents consented to the proposal.

As far as the storage site is concerned, the Lee Myung-bak administration also deserves harsh criticism in that it belatedly set in motion the highly sensitive issue with less than seven months remaining before the end of its term.

As things stand, the nation can’t afford to postpone selecting the storage location. The government should start the process as soon as possible. If not, it could spell a disaster for the country as a whole.

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The Atomic Age is an ongoing project that aims to cultivate critical and reflective intervention regarding nuclear power and weapons. We provide daily news updates on the issues of nuclear energy and weapons, primarily though not exclusively in English and Japanese via RSS, Twitter, and Facebook. If you would like to receive updates in English only, subscribe to this RSS.

Additional Notes / 謝辞

The artwork in the header, titled "JAPAN:Nuclear Power Plant," is copyright artist Tomiyama Taeko.

The photograph in the sidebar, of a nuclear power plant in Byron, Illinois, is copyright photographer Joseph Pobereskin (http://pobereskin.com/)

This website was designed by the Center for East Asian Studies, the University of Chicago, and is administered by Masaki Matsumoto, Graduate Student in the Masters of Arts Program for the Social Sciences, the University of Chicago.

Contact / 連絡先

If you have any questions, please contact the Center for East Asian Studies, the University of Chicago at 773-702-2715 or japanatchicago@uchicago.edu.